Authors: Maureen L. Douglas, Melanie Blackwell, Shelly K. Chamaschuk, Dr. Charlie Chen, and Sara O’Dea

As part of their clients’ estate planning, lawyers often provide advice related to advance care planning. Yet, the intersecting roles of lawyers and health care providers in this area creates uncertainty. This paper explores recommendations that are aimed at optimizing the likelihood of a client’s advance care plans being carried out in health care settings. It further outlines sources that describe the current state of advance care planning (ACP), describe gaps in the legislation, and prescribe principles and practices to strengthen lawyers’ understanding of and effectiveness in their ACP-related practices.

This paper was presented at LESA’s Aligning Practice to Reality: Understanding Advance Care Planning webinar on April 18, 2024.